Ten Minutes
by unlikelyRLshipper
Summary: D/L. Post-ep for 9.05, so spoilers ahoy! "We're gonna take the next ten minutes to let this case go and then we're going home, OK?" How Danny and Lindsay deal with the end of the Tommy Lewis case.


**And for my second post of the day, I bring you another post-ep, this time for 9.05 – Enjoy!**

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**Ten Minutes**

Detective Lindsay Messer was more than happy to leave Mitch Ventri to Detective Lovato, unable to stand being in the same room as him for a second longer. Objectively, she couldn't deny that it was a good thing that he'd resisted his urges for years, but in her mind, hurting just one child was one too many. He was the type of suspect that Lindsay hated the most, even more than the cold-blooded, unremorseful ones: men and women like Ventri spend so much time convincing themselves that they aren't _that_ bad, because they've only committed one crime and resisted the urge to commit more or because they've tried to redeem themselves with the families of their victims while still not admitting their crimes, that they almost don't see themselves as criminals anymore. It was like the original crime became outweighed by all the good they've done since and that kind of psychology was something Lindsay knew she would never accept or sympathize with. If their actions since their crimes were really driven by a deep sense of guilt, the right thing to do would be to turn themselves in and let their victims and their families start the healing process.

As she made her way back to the lab Lindsay tried to shake off the interrogation. It was the end of her shift and all she wanted to do was see Lucy. Cases that involved kids were always hard, but this one had taken a lot out of her. It wasn't that hard to imagine Lucy in a few year's time, pleading with her and Danny to let her walk to school by herself or down to the bodega three blocks away to get some candy. Lindsay remembered doing the same thing as a child, begging her mother to let her walk down to the pharmacy by herself to get a soda on a trip into town. Her mother eventually relented and Lindsay all but strutted down the sidewalk, so proud to be 'grown up' and able to go someplace by herself. It seemed rather ridiculous now, but it had been such a big deal to her younger self and she knew she'd be facing the same scenario with Lucy sooner or later. In her present state of mind, Lindsay wanted to hold onto her daughter and never let her go, but she knew that she couldn't, if for no other reason than it would only scare Lucy and never prepare her to live in the real world. Distancing herself from her emotions for a moment, Lindsay recognized that what she really needed to do was leave this case at work. She usually turned to Danny at these times, but with him still out with the team retrieving Tommy Lewis's body and still on shift for a couple more hours, she knew that she'd have to do it on her own this time.

Standing in the elevator and watching it climb to the floor of the lab, Lindsay decided that she'd give herself ten minutes in the locker room to decompress and purge this case from the forefront of her mind, allowing herself to cry in the showers away from prying eyes if need be. As she stepped off the elevator and made her way to her shared office to make sure it was in order for the night, she caught sight of Jo at her desk. Lindsay was certain that she'd also been a part of the team to find Tommy Lewis, so she hoped it meant that Danny was back too.

"Hi Jo. You guys are back already?" She'd somehow managed to catch Jo off-guard, watching the older woman startle before quickly recovering.

"Yeah. Everybody wanted to finish as quick as possible."

"Of course. This was such a horrible end to the case, but at least Tommy's parents can finally bury their son."

"Uh huh."

Jo seemed incredibly distracted and Lindsay worried that it had something to do with going to find Tommy Lewis. "Hey Jo, are you OK?"

"Yeah, it's just been a long day. Don't worry about me, it's nothing that talking to my kids can't fix."

Jo smiled at her, and although the smile seemed forced, Lindsay didn't want to push anymore, so she merely nodded in response. "Well, I'm heading out for the night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Just so you know, Mac's sending all of us who went to recover Tommy Lewis's body home early."

"Oh, OK." Normally she relished any time that she or Danny got to finish work early, but today it put her on edge. "Do you know where Danny is?"

"The last time I saw him, he was heading off to the locker room and he looked more than a little shaken. He was taking all the pictures at the scene."

Lindsay tried to suppress the shudder that ran though her, but she couldn't quite stop it in time. Catching Jo's eyes, she saw the look of understanding there.

"Go find him Lindsay. I'll see you tomorrow."

Pouring all her gratitude into her eyes, Lindsay left their office without another word, beelining it for the locker room.

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As she entered the locker room, she didn't see Danny but she could see that his locker was still open. She thought that maybe he was in the bathroom and decided to sit on the bench and wait for him, but then she caught sight of Hawkes grabbing his stuff from his own locker. Before she could say anything to him, he turned to her and simply mouthed 'Showers' to her. He slammed his locker closed and came to stand before her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He squeezed her shoulder in acknowledgement and then left, the locker room now empty except for her.

Quietly she made her way to the showers, knowing that the clicking of her heels on the tile floor would keep her from startling him too badly. He wasn't too hard to find, standing in the last stall facing the wall. He didn't bother to turn around before speaking.

"I can't stop seeing the pictures in my mind, the up-close shots of Tommy's body. I need to stop seeing them because sometimes they change and I see long blond hair and pink sneakers and I can't…"

His voice broke off roughly at the end and Lindsay immediately flew into action. She closed the distance between them and instead of turning him around to face her, she squeezed herself into the space between his body and the wall. Finally getting a look at his face, she saw the tear tracks on his cheeks and the new tears building up behind his closed eyelids. Fighting to keep her own emotions in check, she spoke to him softly.

"Open your eyes Danny."

"That won't help, I can still see them," he retorted as he shook his head back and forth, trying to keep the images at bay.

Gently she reached up with both hands and stilled his head, cradling his face and titling it down. "Look at me, babe," she commanded again and this time he complied, staring at her with pleading eyes.

"Hey Dan, it's gonna be OK. We got the guy and Tommy and his family will finally have some peace. We helped solve a twenty year old case and brought a little boy back to his parents. I know it was hard, but I'm so proud of you. You made sure you documented everything so Tommy and his family can finally have the justice they deserve. Now, it's time to let it all go because there's nothing left to do. We have to go home and be parents to Lucy, but we can't take this home with us. We're gonna take the next ten minutes to let this case go and then we're going home, OK?"

Lindsay wasn't sure what he'd say or do, so she waited for his response. Danny continued to stare at her for a few moments, what he was looking for she had no idea, but once he seemed to find it, he lowered his head even more and crashed his lips into hers. It took Lindsay all of a second to respond. The kiss was raw, mirroring their emotions, but it was exactly what they both needed.

Eventually the kiss ended and Danny wrapped Lindsay up in a crushing hug. She hugged him back just as fiercely and finally let herself go, feeling tears start down her cheeks. She let everything she'd been feeling since the beginning of the case wash over her in that moment, acknowledging each feeling before allowing the safety and comfort of her husband's arms help her remove it from her mind and heart.

Neither had any idea how long they stayed wrapped up in each other's arms, but when they finally pulled apart, Lindsay could see that Danny's eyes, though red-rimmed, were no longer haunted by the images of Tommy's body. Feeling so much better herself, she leaned up to catch his lips in a loving kiss, smiling up at him when she pulled away again. "Do you feel better now Danny?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"You just did the same thing for me, so we're even. Hey, I hear that you get to go home now."

"You heard right." Danny had just been about to tell her that himself, but he wasn't really surprised that she already knew. He was fairly certain that a particular co-worker of theirs – Jo – had told his wife that he was a little rattled and needed her.

"So what should we do with our evening, now that you're going to be home early?"

Danny thought for a moment. "Honestly, I could care less, so long as it's you, me and Lucy together. Why don't we let her decide?"

Lindsay smiled and nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me. We're probably going to be playing Candyland all night then, it's her favourite game at the moment."

"Then I'm gonna kick your ass at Candyland for the next couple of hours," Danny asserted with a cocky grin.

"We'll see about that," she said as she poked him in the chest. "A Benjamin says I mop the game board with you."

Danny chuckled at her confidence and at the memory. "You're on, but babe you know we don't get paid 'til next week."

"So what, I know you're good for it, whether it's money or something else."

Danny's jaw dropped and he just stared at Lindsay, who was acting all innocent. Eventually, he recovered enough to respond. "We need to go home…NOW!" he ground out, causing Lindsay to laugh brightly. He grabbed her hand and started to pull her with him, but she stood her ground and caused him to stumble. When his feet were under him again, he looked back at her, a little concerned. "What is it Linds?"

Instead of responding, she used their linked hands to yank him back into her body, placing her free hand behind his neck to pull him down to meet her lips. His body collided with hers, forcing her backwards and causing her back and head to connect rather painfully with the concrete wall behind her, but she paid them little mind, instead focusing on Danny's response. She also paid no attention to the voice in the back of her mind reminding her that they were at work and that if they didn't tone it down someone might walk in and get quite the eyeful. All too soon for Lindsay, the biological need for air forced her to break the kiss, but she refused to move far, resting her forehead against his.

"What…was that…all about?" Danny managed to get out between his pants for air.

"A preview of what's gonna happen tonight after I whoop your butt at Candyland." Danny chuckled and opened his mouth to respond, but Lindsay placed a finger over it to silence him. "And that was me saying thank you: for trusting me to help you though the tough cases, for being my rock when I'm the one who needs it, for knowing me better than I know myself, for our beautiful daughter – just for everything Danny. I'm so glad that we're in this together. I love you, so very much."

Danny's eyes started to shine and he enveloped her in his arms for another fierce hug. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he whispered, "Right back at you Linds."

When they broke apart, both finally seemed to notice just how carried away they'd gotten, Lindsay's blouse half undone and Danny's pants unbuttoned and his belt most of the way pulled out from around his waist. Unashamedly, they made sure they looked presentable once more and when they were both finished, Danny held out his hand to his wife.

"Let's go home to Lucy."

Taking his hand and threading their fingers together, she let him lead her back to their lockers and home for the night.

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Danny didn't win a single game of Candyland all night.

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**Oh come on, you knew there was no way in heck Danny was winning that bet – the guy will never learn not to bet against a country girl. Although, I'm sure he won't mind having to pay Lindsay back. *wink***

**Anyways, happy CSI: NY viewing today, and thanks for reading!**

**Until next time,**

**unlikelyRLshipper**


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